Emergency personnel are next to a burned truck that was traveling east in the the west bound lanes of Interstate 10 and struck a tour bus in Casa Grande, Ariz. / Oscar Perez, AP

by USA TODAY

by USA TODAY

CASA GRANDE, Ariz. (AP) - One person was killed and nine others were injured Tuesday after a pickup truck going the wrong way on a rural Arizona freeway struck a charter bus head-on, authorities said.

The pickup truck burst into flames and the driver was declared dead at the scene of the crash, which occurred about 2:15 p.m. on Interstate 10 in Casa Grande, about 50 miles south of Phoenix.

Arizona Department of Public Safety spokesman Bart Graves said authorities received several 911 calls about a driver on the main route from Phoenix to Tucson travelling east in the westbound lanes.

"We were responding when the accident occurred," said Graves, adding that the name of the driver wasn't immediately available.

The fiery crash closed the westbound lanes of I-10 near Interstate 8 for hours, and traffic was backed up for miles.

Graves said the TBC Conexion bus from Mexico was headed to Phoenix with 16 people aboard, including the driver.

The driver was among two people who were seriously injured and airlifted from the scene, Graves said. Seven passengers on the bus were taken by ground ambulance to Casa Grande-area hospitals with injuries Graves described as minor to moderate.

The names and hometowns of the injured people weren't immediately released. Calls to TBC Conexion's offices in Phoenix and Tucson weren't immediately returned Tuesday evening.

Graves said an 18-wheeler jackknifed at the accident scene and hit the side of the bus, but the main damage was done by the pickup truck. The driver of the tractor-trailer wasn't injured.

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